other blogs by rob::

Monday, October 24, 2011

yesterday I got to visit the seniors class and seek their help at an event for the middle school ministry- and I couldn't help but feel confirmation about a theory that I have had for a long time: the seniors class has a whole lot in common with my class of middle schoolers.

I have passed by this class on dozens of occassions and have seen this class playing games, telling jokes, and laughing out loud- just like the middle school class! they often like to take the church bus to camp or to some fun event- just like my middle schoolers-

yesterday I was in there and the man leading the group stood on the stage with his microphone trying to get everyone seated, but they were too busy chatting with each other at "the goodie table" and catching up- "wow" I thought, "where have I seen THIS behavior before?!"

here are some other similarities that I have noticed between the seniors class and the middle schoolers:

both groups feel a little left out by the rest of the world.

both groups are misunderstood and often misjudged. people tend to either love or hate both groups- which is sad because both groups are so loveable-

neither group is particularly cool, and they are kind of ok with that

in both groups, you've got to watch out for the drama-queens and the flirts-

both groups have a facination with facebook

both sets of people really love coffee and candy.

both groups have much to give to those who are younger than them- and when they get connected to those who are younger than them- things really start to happen.

both groups of people tend to be a little clumsy- and if you're going on the road with either group, make sure you bring a medical kit stocked with band-aids.

both groups enjoy getting a little silly every now and then-

both groups love a good game, a good joke, a good story, and a good laugh

both groups seem to handle difficult times with stride and grace

both groups have a choice to make about their attitude- and both groups can be sour or delightful depending on their attitude

both groups have a bright sparkle and brighten my sparkle when I'm with them

and when God gets a hold of middle schoolers, and when God gets a hold of seniors, watch out- big things are about to happen

a long time ago I had a blog on myspace where I wrote these autobiographical stories about a bunny named raab. I found some of them on my hard drive and thought I would share them with you- see if you can spot what the animals symbolize:

RAAB AND THE COWS:

once upon a time, in the land of cows,
there was a brown rabbit named raab.

raab lived in a big tree for a long time.

and raab loved God

and raab loved to tell the calves in the land of cows stories about God.

every week, raab would meet the calves in the church in the land of cows
and tell them stories about God.

raab had many adventures with the calves in the land of cows

and he became friends with many of them.

in time, raab the rabbit felt that God was moving him out of the land of cows

and into a land of cats-

raab the rabbit was very sad to leave the calves in the land of cows,

but he knew it was the right thing to do.

so raab moved out of his big tree and traveled a long way away to the land of cats.

the land of cats was a beautiful place.

raab moved into a little rabbit hole near a beautiful pond.

when raab went to the church of cats, he met the group of kittens that were there.

the kittens were frisky, wild and untamed.

these kittens would wrestle each other
and dig their claws into the walls of the church and sometimes into each other!

raab the rabbit discovered that kittens are harder to gather than cows-

raab the rabbit thought to himself,

"these kittens are going to turn my brown fur grey!"

the kittens were a little confused about raab- they thought he was a jewish rabbit-

so whenever they saw him they called him "raab-the-rabbi-rabbit;"

when they got mad at him, they would say:

"raab-the-rabbi-rabbit- dag-nabbit!"

raab never understood why they thought he was a rabbi-

he wasn't a jewish bunny-

but in time, the name stuck and he would answer to it.

when raab entered the land of cats, he was sad, because he missed his friends the calves-

but those frisky kittens of the land of cats grew on him-

and he soon discovered that he loved them very much too.

they reminded him of his friends the cows

and they helped take away his sadness of missing them.

one summer day raab went to his favorite place to think and be quiet in the land of cats.

and there, he thought to himself:
"telling stories to calves seemed to be so much easier than telling stories to kittens.

"these kittens are wild and untamed, but I love them so much-

"telling stories to kittens isn't always easy, but it always is fun!
"I think I'm going to enjoy myself here in the land of cats."

and so began the adventures of raab-the-rabbi-rabbit in the land of cats.

in the days to come, he would tell the kittens many stories and take them to many places,

Saturday, October 22, 2011

i love books.I've got a lot of them.I spend a lot of time, reading to them, listening them, organizing them, trading them-they are in every room of my house and in my office.

recently, I downsized my office and sold nine boxes of books. I didn't realize that parting with them would be such an emotional experience for me.

I have not been buying as much paper-books lately because I'm low on storage space- I've been getting most of my books through my amazingly-wonderful little amazon kindle.

I recently organized my books and I noted that there were a number of re-occuring authors. there is a short list of people who can write a book and be guaranteed that I will buy it the day it comes out. they are as follows:

phillip yancey- this guy is my favorite author. hands down. I've have all of his books. I even got to meet him a few years ago. when his last book came out, I was listening to it while painting and I had to actually stop painting and wipe away tears from the beauty of the stories that he told.

jim collins- this guy has written the best and most influential books for business over the last 15 years. he has something insightful to say on ever page of ever book.

erwin mcmanus- what can I say? I love this guy- and no one says it better than him. I have been able to meet him a few times and actually had lunch with him way back when I was in college and he was still unknown.

donald miller- I love his books and stories. I will get every one that he writes.

malcolm gladwell- what does he write about? kind of everything. and its always incredible, profound, and well said.

leonard sweet- this is another one of my favorite Christian authors. he has such a delightful way of writing and preaching. I met him a few months ago- he is amazing.

rob bell- this guy has sparked all kinds of controversy about his views on hell recently- I can disagree with him and still enjoy his books, and speaking. I was also able to meet him recently.

there is also a list of authors who I enjoy very much, and no not have ALL of their books, but I have many of them. these people include:

henri nouwen- on faith and spirituality

patrick lencioni- the guru of business leadership

stephen covey (I might have all of his books)- on leadership

chip ingram- how cool is it that my boss writes books?

bill hybels- on church leadership

tim sanders- on likeability and workplace leadership

craig groeschel- on christian living

guy kawasaki- on everything business

neil t. anderson- on theology and freedom in christ

mo willems- for my little- she loves his books! so do I. (she could probably create a list of favorite authors too)

recently I was organizing books and jane was helping. I found a book that I didn't want, and I didn't think I could sell or trade. I said to jane- "jane- you can just throw this one in the trash."

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

they say that when jesus was on thew cross that He said 7 words-they are:1.Father forgive them, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).2.Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

I have heard it say that maybe He wasn't saying these words from the Cross, but singing them-
that's a wild thought isn't it?
that when jesus was hanging on the cross- covered in blood and writhing in agony, He was actually singing?

how many of these 7 words come from psalm 22?
psalm 22 opens with the phrase:
"For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.”
A psalm of David." it was a song before it was a psalm-
and jesus had it memorized-
and as He was hanging on the Cross, dying for your sins and mine- He sang it-

can you imagine Him singing these words there?

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning? 2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent."

(we actually have it recorded that He said this in matthew 27:46)

"Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them. 5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed."

(even while dying He is praising His Father in heaven-)

"But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 8 “He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

(we have it recorded that the crowd who saw Him said this as they passed by in matthew 27:42)

" 9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother’s breast. 10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help."

(the Christmas story and the story of Good Friday are intersecting as He prays to God about His mother-)

" Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me. 18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing."

(those soldiers must have been like bulls and lions around Him- nailing Him to the cross and gambling for His clothes- keep in mind that this psalm was written hundreds of years BEFORE the cross-)

"But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me. 20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs. 21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen. 22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you. 23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! 24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help."

(even from the Cross He is telling us who fear the LORD to praise Him- even. from. the. Cross.)

"From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear youwill I fulfill my vows. 26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever! 27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

(even from the Cross- at His lowest moment He declares that God wins and that God is in control. whew.)

" All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive. 30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord. 31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it."

(from the Cross He is looking forward- because this is not the end for jesus-
the last line says, "He has done it." or said another way:
"IT IS FINISHED.")

when God put these words in david- He was planning the crucifixion of his Son- and preparing for the redemption that paid for your crimes and mine-
I wonder how long jesus had been planning to sing this song with His dying breaths-
since He was a boy?

God brought together the words of David, and the cruelty of the Roman Empire, and the innocence of His Only Begotten to form a moment that would be remembered from all time-

the Word of God was quoted by The Word in the form of a song-
a love song-

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I love these photos of jane and I walking from behind:maybe it started with a childhood memory of this picture by ernest shephard:

my friend rachel took this picture of us walking in the park across the street from our house- we did not realize that we were being photographed- this maybe my favorite photo of jane and I, it is in the living room, my bedroom, my office and its my desktop wallpaper:

so when we had our pictures taken recently, I made sure that we posed for another one!

unfortunately, amanda pig is a fairly obscure book character- there are no new books about her, and certainly no toys. we have made amanda pig dioramas out of scans of the book, but recently I decided to make an amanda pig out of pieces of wood from the craft store, paint and a ton of wood putty. I think it turned out pretty well-

deanna, jane and I went camping at our favorite KOA in santa cruz, then we came home and I worked on one of my home made toys for jane, then we went out to eat. as we rolled into our parking lot, I got a call from my friend dave. he said that he locked his keys in his car and needed a ride- I told him I'd be right there. then he called again and needed some help moving some stuff. I rolled my eyes.

I met him at the church, grabbed the chairs that he needed to move and walked into one of our church's main rooms, venue 2. as I walked in, I noticed my ministry's logo on the screens. I thought, "who left these screens on?! who is using my logo?!" and then the lights flipped on and a crowd of friends jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE!" I thought, "did I just mess up someone's surprise party?" and I saw that all these people were MY friends! this party was for me! they had all gathered to celebrate my ten years at the church. they totally got me good! the place was filled with the faithful 678 volunteers, parents of students, former students, current students, and my former college students. best of all, deanna and jane soon joined the crowd. I couldn't belive that they would go to such an effort for me- and that they all kept it a secret from me!

what followed was one blessing after another. there was a video with photos and touching testimonies from students and former students-leanne shared many meaningful memories- niki did as well. the words that they shared were so deeply encouraging that I haven't fully taken them in yet. jeff got up and played a version of "where the streets have no name" with a new title, "our super-pastor." so cool. it was definitely one of those "this is your life" moments.

Dave asked me to get up and I shared what I could remember of an earlier blog post of what I might say in this situation.

I received many thoughtful and gracious cards, notes, and gifts- the thoughtfulness and generosity of these friends was overwhelming. this was one of the most humbling and beautiful experiences that I can remember.

everyone kept telling me about how long they have been planning this and how hard it was to keep it a secret. just the other day I was talking with Dave and noting that no one had noticed my ten year anniversary at the church. he just giggled.

it made me think that God must giggle like that to Himself quite a lot. down here, we lament and complain about all kinds of things, and I'm sure that He is up there thinking, "you have no idea how I'm going to bless you! I've been planning this for so long! I have gone to such great lengths to prepare an amazing surprise for you!" and He must get such a kick out of seeing us react to the amazing blessings that He brings into our lives. I wonder if He has a sense of excitement as we are about to discover something new from Him.

"for I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." -jeremiah 29:11

"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him." -1 Corinthians 2:9

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whohave been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

all of you blessed my socks off. I can't thank you enough for the effort that you went to to make me feel special; and I can't thank God enough for allowing me to have all of you as friends.